


Protector

by Mawgon



Category: Maleficent (2014), Maleficent-Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boarding School, Gen, Sexual Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-28
Updated: 2016-03-16
Packaged: 2018-05-23 19:57:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6128388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mawgon/pseuds/Mawgon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After his parents' divorce and the ensuing conflicts with his mother's new husband, Diaval is sent to a boarding school. Not as punishment, just to defuse the situation.<br/>Diaval soon realizes that there are men much worse than the mildly annoying nitwit his mother married. But there are things you just don't tell. Things that would change the way people look at you forever. And - would anyone believe him, or would they accuse him of telling lies about everyone's favourite teacher?</p><p>Neither he nor his tormentor know that someone watches. Someone sees what evil is done in the dead of the night. And there will be a reckoning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, this should be obvious, this being a work of fiction, but just to be safe: the characters are flawed and their way of solving problems is not the best one, and not one that should be imitated in real life. In real life, telling an adult is in most cases the best solution for most problems schoolkids might encounter.

The boarding school Weizenfeld was just the idyllic sort of place where Dr. Watson would think there was no crime. 

However, Sherlock Holmes would tell him that such a remote and isolate place was where the worst nightmarish horrors dwelt.  
And he would be right. 

 

Diaval chewed on his pen, trying to think of something to write. He had phoned already, now he had to write a letter. Maybe that would help. Maybe. 

Now he wished he hadn’t yelled and banged the door on his way out. His mother had just told him he was homesick when he had first pleaded with her to take him away from the boarding school. 

He had tried running away, to no avail. Worse yet, it had been Mr. Bauer who had found him. And .... things had happened. 

Diaval didn’t like to think about it. Talking about it ... no, never. He could not. If anyone found out ... he was being bullied bad enough as it was. 

 

There was a knock at the door and a pale head with a single black braid poked inside. “Dinner” announced Maleficent, then the head disappeared and Diaval only heard the sound of her walking stick on the floor. She had some kind of disability that made it difficult for her to keep balance without the stick, but woe betide anyone who dared pity her. 

He all too well remembered his first day at the boarding school. He hadn’t been able to sleep and had heard soft crying noises from the stairs. Maleficent had been sitting on the uppermost step and Diaval had sat next to her and before he could even open his mouth to ask what was wrong, she had hissed “Get lost!”, and limped away as fast as she could. 

In theory, it was a good boarding school. Very progressive, everyone was on first name basis, including the teachers, and each pupil had their own, albeit small, bedroom. And that last point was where the problem started. 

Or maybe Mr. Bauer would have found an opportunity regardless. 

Diaval had no idea why the man had picked him. Maybe it was his delicate features and small body that made him look girly. Or not; after all there were actual girls here ... not that he wished it to them, he wished it to no one. 

He got up and dragged himself downstairs. This being a very progressive school, the pupils lived in small houses on the school grounds in groups of eight, with two teachers, one of each sex. Very family-like. Diaval hated it.

Everyone else was already seated around the table. There was Maleficent, Flora, Fiona, Maria, and Kevin, the only other boy. Angela, the female teacher, was busy cutting bread, while Mr. Bauer was just sitting there, legs stretched out and crotch on display ... no, better not look there. 

Diaval knew he was to call the teachers by their first names, but he would never call this man by first name in his mind. Never again. 

He didn’t eat much; certain events had made him lose his appetite. Maybe he should go on hunger strike to convince his mother. Living with her new husband would be hard, but as annoying as the man was, there was one thing to be said in his favour and that was that he had never even entered Diaval’s bedroom. 

When he got up he noticed that Maleficent was watching him, like a hawk. He had thought her a bit creepy when he had first met her. Her smile had that quality about it that made you think she was pondering the best method to dispose of a corpse. 

He had soon found out that there were much worse people than her in this house.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning! You'll notice I dwell on the sexual abuse as little as humanly possible, but I have to at least imply it, and that's bad enough so ... be warned.

This was not one of the nights when Diaval was lucky. It was, in fact, turning out to be one of those nights when he was very, very unlucky. 

Not for the first time he briefly considered calling for help. But what would that achieve? Kevin must know, their rooms were next to each other. Angela probably knew, too, and did nothing.  
In the worst case, it’d achieve nothing and make Mr. Bauer angry at him. There had been no explicit threats but ... 

He recoiled as he felt the teacher’s hands on his body. This was so wrong he didn’t even want to think about it, having someone else know about it would be – had he heard the creaking of floorboards? 

It was quiet for a while, no sound heard except the rustling of his pyjamas and the loud and disgustingly hot breath of Mr. Bauer. 

And then, another creak, and suddenly, Diaval saw something he had seen mere hours ago. A pale face surrounded by dark hair, illuminated by the light of the full moon. 

Before he could react, the door was pulled close. Immediately after, there was a knock. 

Mr. Bauer jumped away from him, hastily closed his trousers and hissed a threat before opening the door. “Diaval had a nightmare. Did he wake you?”

“No, I couldn’t sleep anyway.” Maleficent smiled sweetly. “I just lost my hair tie and I thought it might be in his room.” She switched the light on. “Light always makes you feel better after a nightmare. Let’s see ...” she stumbled over to the bed, using the door knob as a handle to balance herself before going down on her knees to look under the bed. “Just a moment. I must be somewhere here, I remember having seen it last before I went to fetch you for dinner.”

There was no way she could have lost it. She knew. She KNEW. Of course, she had seen everything. 

“There is no need to stay, Helge”, she continued. “You know I am a good girl, I don’t need a chaperone.”

Diaval feared that the teacher might suspect something – Maleficent had never talked as much in the entire two months he had known her – but he actually left. 

“Swear you won’t tell anyone”, he pleaded when they were alone. 

“You are sure I shouldn’t tell the adults?” She raised an eyebrow in a fashion entirely too cynical for an eight-grader, and then nodded. “You are right, they’re useless.”

Giving up the pretense of looking for the hair tie, she sat down next to his bed. “How long has this been going on? Since you arrived?”

“I’m trying to get my mother to take me out of here, alright?” he mumbled, too embarrassed for words. “It’s not as if I ...” he couldn’t even say the words. The very idea that he might in any way not hate every moment of ... but if the bullies ever found out, they would have a very different interpretation of the matter, he had no doubt about that. “It’s rape”, he said quietly, half hoping she would not hear. He was ashamed of himself for not telling his mother, but then again, it might prove useless. She might just think he was lying to get home ...

Maleficent’s face did not betray whether she had heard his words, but she did stay until Angela knocked, entered and ushered her back to her own bedroom. 

Diaval got some much-needed sleep that night, though it was interspersed with nightmares, actual nightmares of the non-real kind this time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I hope the school-related terms in this chapter are correct - I find them rather confusing, and that's not even taking into consideration the differences between British and American English. 
> 
> Oh, and maybe I should also mention that I took some artistic liberties in inventing this school. It may break some law that I'm not aware of.
> 
> Also, I don' t have a C.S. Lewis -like hate for reform schools. The reason why this is not one of the ordinary boarding schools with a girls' dorm and a boys' dorm is so that the two protagonists can meet and the plot can take place.

The next morning at breakfast, Diaval was uncomfortably aware of Maleficent watching him. However, judging from the lack of bullying he encountered during class, she hadn’t told anyone. 

In the break, she was always absent. There was a little wood on the school grounds, and Diaval suspected that she hid there, to cry unwitnessed, or just be alone. 

 

After lunch, Maleficent announced that she wanted to use the kitchen. No one objected. 

 

“I didn’t know she liked cooking”, Diaval murmured when she had closed the kitchen door behind her. 

“Oh, she used to bake a lot”, Flora informed him. “Before she had that accident.”

“Accident? So she hasn’t always been disabled?” 

“She’s just pretending, is what I say”, Fiona threw in. 

“Her blueberry pies were delicious”, Maria sighed. “I wonder what she’s making, it’s a bit late for blueberries.”

“She gave up baking because she cannot walk without a stick anymore?” When he tried to bake marble cake, it actually was as hard as marble, or at least close, so he couldn’t really judge, but he was quite sure baking was nothing you needed your legs for. 

“She says Stefan caused her accident, but that’s rubbish. She’s just angry he dumped her. Anyway, she has never been the same, since. Started that fad with wearing black back then.”

“Stefan? That would be Stefan König?” The leader of the bullies who had designated him their new victim soon after the start of the school year. It was comforting to know that Maleficent hated him too. 

The girls nodded, and started whispering about the alleged attractiveness of said male. Diaval went to his room. 

When he was lured downstairs by the delicious smell of freshly baked pies, he found to his dismay that Mr. Bauer had been faster. 

“I see you made another one for your favourite teacher!”

Diaval tiptoed closer, peeking through the half-open kitchen door. The pies were rather tiny, more like muffins, and there were only two of them. Maleficent wrapped her hand protectively around one. 

“You are not my favourite teacher.”

Diaval grinned. He himself would not have dared to so brazenly tell a teacher that he disliked him, and it did his heart good to hear Maleficent do it. 

“What a witty girl you are!” With those words, Mr. Bauer swiped the one pie Maleficent was not clutching. Within seconds, the pie had vanished in his mouth. 

“That”, Maleficent said. “Was not a joke.” She shoved the second pie into her mouth, chewed and swallowed. “You should be ashamed of yourself.”

With that, she marched out of the kitchen, the very sound of her steps sounding angry. Diaval hurried to get out of the way and ran to the bathroom, the only room with a lock, and locked himself in there. 

He had tried sleeping in the bathtub, but had been forced to get out when Kevin had needed the toilet, which was unfortunately also located in the bathroom. 

Diaval sat down on the rim of the bathtub and did his best to remember every detail of Maleficent’s reaction. If only he was as brave himself. Bullies sure wouldn’t dare torment him; they left Maleficent alone even though she was clearly not a popular girl.

The following night, he was spared, but as he only realized that at two o’ clock, he didn’t get much sleep regardless. 

Ironically, he dozed off in maths, which was taught by Mr. Bauer. Somehow, the voices of others made him feel safe. 

Mr. Bauer’s reaction was a self-deprecating joke about his lesson being boring. He was such a great guy, everyone’s best friend ... or that was what he wanted people to think. 

If Diaval told anyone what their beloved teacher did at nights, no one would believe him. He almost had not believed it himself at first. Had been too shocked to react appropriately. Maybe that had been his mistake. Or maybe he could not have done anything ... on the other hand, Maleficent would certainly never allow ... but Mr. Bauer had stolen her pie. One of the first pies she had made after her accident. This detail somehow made it seem even worse. Sure she had clearly told him she was annoyed, but other than that ... not that she could have done anything. 

This evening, Mr. Bauer retired to his room early, claiming to feel unwell. Diaval didn’t quite believe it, but when it was past midnight, he finally found sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I invented Maleficent's disability - I wanted something that creates a similar image, her walking with a stick, and since the lack of wings probably made it more difficult to balance herself in the original, something that affects her balance was best suited to my purposes. So, if you think it resembles a real disability, don't be confused when things don't match anymore at some point. It's just a little bit of fantasy in an otherwise non-fantasy story ... sort of like the cars that explode for no reason in action movies. ;)

Mr. Bauer did not turn up in class the following day, to the displeasure of everyone except Diaval, and possibly Maleficent.   
During the lessons, Diaval saw nothing of Maleficent as she was a year over him, but in the break he could see her haunt the school grounds, eerie smile on her face.   
She was indeed one creepy girl, but creepy in the way a good gothic novel or movie was. No real danger about her ... unlike some other people who seemed quite safe at first glance. 

In the afternoon, instead of doing his homework, Diaval again tried to write a letter to his mother. Maybe bad grades would convince her this school was not good for him, he thought grimly. He had not done one minute of homework for Mr. Bauer’s class ever since the ... thing had started happening. 

His letter almost finished, and hidden under his mattress, Diaval slept well that night. In the morning, it became evident that Mr. Bauer was seriously ill, although he tried to play it down, saying it was only a little stomach bug. 

A short period of grace, maybe. Enough time for a letter to reach its destination. 

The fact that the enemy was sick meant that Diaval could walk to the nearest letterbox unfollowed. He didn’t have any stamps, but hoped his mother would pay that small sum for a letter from her only son rather than let it grow mouldy at the post office.

Things were changing. He could feel it. Maybe this nightmare would be over soon. 

Maleficent stood at the schoolgate and gave him a knowing smile when he walked past her. “Adults are useless”, she whispered. “I would not rely on them if I were you.”

Diaval stopped walking so abruptly he’d almost have stumbled. “How do you know?” Of course it was a staple of every children’s books that adults were useless and you had to do everything important yourself, but Maleficent sounded as though she knew it was like this in real life. 

“This.” She tapped her walking stick on the floor. “I could walk without it once. Do you think Stefan was ever punished?”

“I don’t know. What happened?”

“Nothing happened. He did something.”

“Sorry. So, what did he do?”

“You know that from your room, one can climb the roof?”

He did, though the precipice was not large enough to sleep there. It was a nice place to sit, though. 

“Your room used to be Stefan’s. We sat there once, and he pushed me. The adults of course believed him when he claimed it was an accident.”

“He could have killed you!” It was not that high, but high enough for the fall to kill someone if they were unlucky. 

Maleficent smiled her humourless smile. “Try telling them that.”

“But why? Why would he do that?”

She shrugged. “He was an outcast like me. Wanted to become popular. You have probably noticed that I am not well liked. I heard rumours it was a bet, but of course no one ever said a word to the teachers.”

Diaval swallowed. “But why ... didn’t you want to change schools after that?”

“My parents could at least achieve that Stefan was moved to another house. As for me staying here, well ... it is a very reputable school.” Her eerie smile returned. “And I have to settle a score.”

“Oh.” A shiver rippled down his spine. He was very glad indeed it was not he who had angered her. 

“As I said, adults are useless. Let’s go back, we don’t want to miss dinner, do we?”

He didn’t answer, although his appetite had not been what it once was those past two months. 

 

Two days later, Diaval’s cellphone rang. It was his mother, asking why he wanted to leave the school mid-term. 

He gave the reasons he had already given – bullying and homesickness and bad teachers, but his mother didn’t give in, but told him they could talk it over in the autumn holidays. 

The autumn holidays. He would have to be extremely lucky for Mr. Bauer to not recover until then.


	5. Chapter 5

A substitute teacher was hired for Mr. Bauer’s lessons, and Diaval had already handed in three homeworks when it occurred to him that he should better keep his performance bad if he wanted to have any chance at convincing his mother it was not a good school. 

At that point in time, there were already at least two rumours as to the reason of Mr. Bauer’s absence. One was that he suffered from salmonella poisioning and no one knew from where, and the other was that Maleficent had cursed him. 

The one about salmonella poisoning was much more plausible, and was confirmed when Angela asked the pupils in her house whether Mr. Bauer had eaten something none of them had eaten; possibly something with raw eggs in it. The teacher himself, apparently, could not remember anything. 

Diaval remembered very well the pie Mr. Bauer had stolen from Maleficent, but drawing attention to that would only fuel the ridiculous rumours about her, so he said nothing – besides, Maleficent had eaten the other pie and she was right as rain. And it had been some days before the sickness, anyway. 

No one else mentioned anything, and so the only consequence was that all eggs and cooked meats and other suspicious foods in the fridge were thrown away and the fridge cleaned out with disinfectant. 

An ambulance arrived to bring Mr. Bauer to the hospital, and it was hard for Diaval not to smile. 

Now there was a real chance he would be safe until the holidays. 

 

Two days later, class was interrupted by the bell and all teachers were asked to take their pupils to the school hall. 

Fire alarm? But no, that was not what fire alarm worked like. There would have been a siren. 

After some minutes spend waiting squeezed between his classmates, the headmaster announced that he would make an announcement. Then, after some hemming and hawing, he said in a very solemn tone of voice that the beloved teacher Helge Bauer had passed away this morning. 

Diaval was shocked. He was not sad, no, not in the least, but ... it was like having a weight taken off his shoulders so suddenly that he lost balance. 

All his plans of forcing his mother to take him out of this school – gone. Unnecessary. A human life had ended, and everything had changed. 

They got the rest of the day off, and Diaval hurried to go to the shower and turn it on. Wash everything away. 

While he was feeling cleaner by the minute, his thoughts raced. Was it not a very convenient coincidence? A very unlikely coincidence? 

Maleficent and her pies ... but she had eaten one, he had watched her swallow, even. And why would she poison pies that she meant to eat herself?

Still, it was the only unusual thing that had happened before Mr. Bauer had gotten ill. 

Maybe she had poisoned him later, in revenge for the stolen pie? No, that made no sense. No one was that petty. And besides, Stefan was still alive. If Maleficent was a killer, then she’d have killed him first, wouldn’t she? 

Diaval’s mind refused to accept that he had just been lucky. It was just too much coincidence. One night, Maleficent comes to his room to look for a hair tie she could not possibly have lost in there. The next day, she bakes pies, which she hasn’t done in a long time. And weeks later, the very man she saved Diaval from just drops dead? Not likely. 

He had to know. He just had to know for sure. 

The skin on his fingertips was already wrinkled from the water when he heard a characteristic noise outside, the sound of Maleficent walking with her walking stick. 

Only stopping to wrap a towel around his waist, he ran to the bathroom door and opened it a bit. “Why did you do it?”, he asked, quietly enough so no one downstairs could hear, but loud enough for her to understand. 

She turned around and walked into the bathroom, where she shut the door and locked it, paying no attention whatsoever to his undressed state. “Why did I do what?”, she asked with an innocent smile. 

“You know exactly what I mean”, he hissed. 

Now, she frowned. “Would you rather I let the adults handle it?” she asked angrily. 

“No ... I just ...” He raised his hands defensively, and the towel fell to the floor. “I owe you one. If you ever need something ...”

She stared at him, her green eyes boring into his. “I need you to be my legs”, she finally stated. 

“Your legs?”

“Oh, I don’t expect you to carry me. That would look stupid. As I told you, I have a score to settle. Spy on Stefan for me. I need to know everything about him there is to know, even the most inane things.”

“Okay.” He knelt down to pick up the towel and cover himself again, if only to not offend her. It seemed so unimportant now. “Anything else?” 

“If you are still here next term, you can pick some blueberries for me.” She smiled, a sad smile, but the most authentic one he had ever seen on her. 

“Gladly.”


	6. Chapter 6

Spying on Stefan was not easy, as he was in the same year as Maleficent and therefore not in any of Diaval’s classes, and not pleasant, as he always had a snide remark ready whenever he saw Diaval. 

On the other hand, the bullying was a picknick compared to what Maleficent had saved him from, and besides, the thought that the spying would eventually help her take a nasty revenge was very satisfying.   
A schoolyard bully did not quite deserve death, Diaval figured, but if Maleficent had intended to kill him, she would have done so already. 

No serious suspicion ever arose – the teacher had died from a mysterious case of organ failure, reasons unknown, but proven to not be caused by salmonella or any infectious disease. 

Rumours, of course, were a different matter, though Diaval suspected they were only shared for the entertainment value. No one could seriously believe that Maleficent had killed someone with a curse, and besides, she had no reason to kill the most popular teacher of the school. No reason, that was, anyone except Diaval knew about. 

He wondered why she had done it. Only for his sake? Or had it been her plan that he would owe her a favour?

She didn’t change her behaviour towards him. No one would have suspected that they were friends, and maybe they were not.   
Diaval gave his reports to Maleficent as scribbled notes, and if she required clarification, she would sneak into his room in the middle of the night and shake him awake. 

Despite this, Diaval felt safer than ever before. What Maleficent had done for him, he would never have expected even of his best friend, and could never repay. 

When the autumn holidays came, Diaval did not even look much forward to going home. His mother was already waiting outside when he finally dragged his bag down the stairs and out of the door. 

“This must have been so hard for you”, she greeted him, and for one moment, Diaval thought Maleficent had somehow informed her what had happened. “How do you cope? It must have been such a shock!”

Of course. She meant Mr. Bauer’s death. 

“It’s okay, mom. I didn’t know him that well.” Or rather, good enough to not miss him. 

“Now, tell me about those bullies. Have you told a teacher?”

Diaval felt a bit silly telling her what the bullies had done. Most things were really just mean words – he couldn’t explain why it hurt so much, and of course, his mother told him to ignore them. When he mentioned the chewing gums in his hair and the time they soaked his homework in ink, she agreed that this was inacceptable and she would file a complaint with the headmaster.   
“This is supposed to be a good school, they have to stop this.”

As if. 

It was a two hours drive home, so at least he got to enjoy the company of his mother without her stupid new husband. 

Soon after arriving home, Diaval found that he could tolerate the man rather well, as he had school to look forward to. 

Not exactly school, though. If he was honest with himself, it was Maleficent he looked forward to.   
As the memories faded, he was not so sure anymore she had even really poisoned the pie. How could she have known that Mr. Bauer would swipe one? Except for the fact that he never took no for an answer, that was ... he had taken a bar of chocolate from Diaval, on the very first day they had met. 

Diaval had not said anything. Maybe that was why ... or maybe Mr. Bauer was just a pervert and would have done the same to any boy under his care ... in that case, Diaval’s plan to just get away would have been very selfish. 

Maleficent, though ... whatever she had done with the pie, he knew for sure that she had not lost her hair tie in his room. He would be forever grateful for her just walking inside and telling Mr. Bauer to go away, even if that was the only thing she had done. 

If. 

It did not escape the notice of his mother’s new husband that Diaval mentioned Maleficent a lot, and soon he started to ask questions. 

“What does she look like?”

Diaval would have preferred not to answer, but that would have made his mother angry. “Dark hair, green eyes ... actually, she looks a bit like this girl, Wednesday Addams, from the TV series.” Not really because of her face, or her eyes ... but the serious expression was one he had never seen on any other girl that young. 

The man grinned stupidly. “Have you heard, dear? Our son has found himself a little lady love. Who looks like a film star!”

Diaval rolled his eyes. “The Addams Family is a family of monsters.” Though the daughter with the black pigtails and the oldfashioned dresses admittedly always had been his favourite character, and was quite pretty. In a slightly creepy way.


End file.
